TYNGSBORO -- The superintendent-director of Greater Lowell Technical High School plans to have police investigate threats allegedly made by a Lowell blogger.

This is the latest development in a number of recent tensions enveloping the school. Mary Jo Santoro said Tuesday she does not know if she will accept an extension of her contract if offered one by the School Committee.

Santoro's contract expires on June 30.

The alleged threats were made by Lynne Lupien, of Lowell, on the blog "Left in Lowell," to which Lupien owns the domain name.

Some local blogs have opined that Santoro made harassment allegations against School Committee member Erik Gitschier, of Lowell, at a time when the committee will be discussing her contract, essentially handcuffing the board into offering her another contract rather than risk her filing a lawsuit.

Lupien wrote Monday on a recent post with some harsh language about Santoro, saying in part, "And if someone -- a person in LEADERSHIP -- calls wolf on harassment like this, I want her head on a platter. ... Seriously, if this is what I believe it to be, it's absolutely disgusting, and totally unethical, and she should be hung for it."

Lupien prefaced her comment by acknowledging she does not know the details of the harassment allegations.

Santoro called the comment "alarming."

"I feel threatened. I feel seriously threatened by this," Santoro said. "I don't know this woman. How do I know that she's not going to act on these threats? If I knew her and knew she was someone who speaks this way, maybe not.

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But I wouldn't know this woman if I saw her in a parking lot."

Santoro said she spoke to someone at the Lowell Police Department Tuesday afternoon, who referred her to the Tyngsboro Police Department, because that is where she was when she read the alleged threats.

She plans to speak to Tyngsboro police today.

Lupien said she did not have a comment when told that Santoro was speaking to police.

When reached earlier in the day, before Santoro had gone to police, Lupien said she used the harsh language because she is passionate about feminist issues and as a woman, she may face harassment in the workplace and wouldn't want her claims diminished because of women who make false harassment claims, if Santoro's claims go unfounded.

Lupien said she doesn't know the facts about the situation, but would like the truth to come out.

Santoro and Lupien have never met, although Lupien has attended Greater Lowell Technical High School Committee meetings where Santoro has been present.

In regard to the claims that she is "playing wolf" with the harassment allegations, Santoro said, "I don't even need this job. To make that statement sounds like I'm desperate to stay here. I would never force myself into an employment situation where I wasn't wanted."

Tensions among staff and administration in the building were highlighted by below-average results on the TELL Mass survey, which measures school climate, and on the committee following Santoro's claims of harassment against Gitschier.

"I don't know," Santoro said when asked if she would accept a contract extension. "There's so much going on. I've had other offers of employment, both in-state and out. I'm also eligible for retirement, so that's another consideration. There's a lot of factors to consider."

The source of harassment, Santoro said, is repeated requests for reports from the administration through motions that have been made by Gitschier.

Gitschier and Santoro have been advised not to communicate with each other privately by the School Committee's attorney, The Sun has learned.

Attorney Michael Long, of Long & DiPietro, and the school's Human Resource Department are conducting a fact-finding investigation into the claims.

According to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination website, a harassment complaint must be filed within 300 days of the discriminatory act.

The School Committee is juggling several other issues right now, like getting its $65.3 million renovation project through its final approval needed from Dracut and hiring a new project management firm for the project.

On the issue of Santoro's contract renewal, Chairman Victor Olson, of Dracut, said the committee has not discussed it yet, but will do so by the new year.

Santoro's yearly evaluation could be presented at the Dec. 13 School Committee meeting, Olson said.

Santoro received the evaluations from School Committee members about two months ago and she is preparing her response, which should be submitted to the committee before the next meeting, she said.

Santoro has been an educator for 35 years, beginning her career as a special-education teacher. She is in the final year of her three-year contract. She earns a yearly salary of $160,000.

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